A Giant move for Zito? / SF may be looking at signing winter's biggest free agent

Published 4:25 pm, Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez

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Athletics starting pitcher, Barry Zito, went almost a complete game before being pulled in the top of the ninth inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Arizona Diamondbacks at McAfee Coliseum on Sunday, July 2, 2006. Oakland lost the game 3-1, as the Diamondbacks swept the series in Oakland.
Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle
Photo taken on 7/2/06, in Oakland, Ca, USA
**All names cq (Roster)
Ran on: 07-03-2006
Barry Zito was named to his third All-Star Game, the lone A's representative. less

ATHLETICS03_014_CAG.JPG
Athletics starting pitcher, Barry Zito, went almost a complete game before being pulled in the top of the ninth inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Arizona Diamondbacks at McAfee ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez

A Giant move for Zito? / SF may be looking at signing winter's biggest free agent

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2006-12-05 17:25:00 PST LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. -- The Giants, rebuffed in their efforts to sign one of the premier hitters on the market, are looking into acquiring the winter's biggest pitching prize.

Two sources familiar with the talks said Tuesday the Giants have talked to agent Scott Boras about free-agent pitcher Barry Zito, who is being wooed by some of the richest teams in baseball but might have an option now to play across the bay from his career-long home in Oakland.

It is unclear how serious the negotiations are and how interested Zito might be in San Francisco. He has been pursued aggressively by a number of clubs, including the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and some of the teams in Southern California, where he lives.

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There is speculation Zito could command a contract approaching $100 million for six years, and he is represented by Boras. Ordinarily, the Giants run from those dynamics. However, Boras and Sabean met Tuesday and discussed the pitcher, whom Boras is marketing as if he would be a bargain at $100 million.

"He is, next to Greg Maddux, the most durable pitcher to hit the marketplace in more than 30 years," Boras said Tuesday. "He's never missed a start his entire career. He is a winner and he is durable. In the last 25 or 30 years, only two pitchers have pitched 200 innings every year and had over 100 victories for six years."

Although the Giants view Matt Cain as an ace in the making, they are said to be concerned about the top end of their rotation with the departure of Jason Schmidt, who is expected to sign elsewhere, possibly in Los Angeles.

Schmidt's agent, Randy Hendricks, said there is no chance Schmidt will accept the Giants' arbitration offer and stay in San Francisco one more year. Asked if there was any possibility Schmidt would return under a long-term contract, Hendricks said, "Never say never, but don't put at lot of money on it."

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Zito would be expensive, but he is more accomplished that the bevy of mid-level starters with .500 career records, such as Ted Lilly, Gil Meche and Jeff Suppan, who are attracting offers of $10 million a season or more. The Giants might figure if they have to spend big on a pitcher, they ought to pursue one who is 102-63 with a 3.55 career ERA and has made 34 or 35 starts in every season since 2001.